BJ Penn Wants to Extend Florian’s Wait
BJ Penn
Despite recent indications from Dana White that Kenny Florian may finally get his long overdue shot at the Lightweight Title in June, Sherdog is now reporting that may not be the case. They recently spoke to BJ’s brother and manager, who indicated BJ wants to take a little more family time before his next fight claiming that, “It’s too close to BJ’s last fight, he wants to spend time with his baby.” The elder Penn went on to say, “We are still negotiating the fight. No date [is] scheduled, but we are thinking late July or early August.”
They also spoke with Kenny Florian, and the article mentioned some of his side of the situation:
“I talked to my manager Joe Cavallaro today and [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva told him June 13,” Florian said to Sherdog.com on Monday. “That was the date they wanted because they wanted it to be the main event and the only main event. That’s what fight made the most amount of sense for June 13. July [11, UFC 100] apparently is backed up, so July’s probably out of the question, and August…”
Though it’s far from finalized and the promotion will have the final say in determining the bout’s date, an even-handed Florian (11-3) said he’d be willing to wait if he had to, especially if it meant it would produce Penn at his best.
“For me, it’s the fight that I want and it’s the fight he wants and we both need to come to terms on it, so if that’s what I need to do to make it happen, if I have to wait, then I have no choice,” he said.
Florian, 32, said he could adjust his training as needed. Still, a postponed date would effect the Boston native in a way the affluent Penn family never has to worry about.
“Schedule-wise it makes it a little difficult because money-wise, you expect a certain amount to come in and I’ve been trying to budget things accordingly,” said Florian, who earned $80,000 for his last win. “It might be a little tougher now.”
This particular writer certainly hopes that these details can be ironed out, and that this fight can happen sooner rather than later, for the sake of the fans, as well as for Florian’s bank account.
Tags: BJ Penn, Kenny Florian
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he spends 80 grand pretty quickly????
Seems quick, but after his agent takes 10%… pays for his training camp… and his normal everyday trainers’ fees, and of course taxes I bet Kenny only saw 20-30% of that money.
Lol, yeah. But when you make money you tend to spend it. I’ve found that poor people and rich people are really good at living paycheck to paycheck. Especially when your a young fighter who goes from making 15k a fight to making 80k a right. There are a lot of Ferrari’s and Jet Ski’s to buy.
BJ love ya as a fighter and understand you want to spend time with your daughter, but you and Dana gotta stop dangling the carrot in front of Florian’s nose. He has been waiting for several months now and probably will end up having to take another fight for expenses. Feel like this is turning into the Hughes/Serra fight.
im sure kennys not on his ass that much, even tho im a big kenny fan i dont think he will beat bj, ide still like to see him beat sherk 1st then bj, im sure a kenny sherk fight could be arranged for april time, then he could fight bj in aug if he gets past sherk.
But why should he have to wait yet again? He’s been “next in line” for BJ for 6 months already. He shouldn’t have to get past a guy who just lost (and lost badly) to Penn in order to get his shot.
Since Penn’s last win, Florian has beaten Huerta and Stevenson. Asking him to take another fight against someone who already missed their chance to take the title so BJ can do nothing (like, I don’t know, maybe defend his title once in a 12 month period?) is an insult.
13 months without a title defense should be grounds for stripping a championship.
Wow. I didn’t realize it has been that long. Yeah, I totally agree. A year is too long. 13 months is definitely grounds for a stripping of the title
Um don’t you remember BJ fighting Sherk in May? that’s not even close to 13 months.
wait I’m retarded it would be that long if he fights in June, my bad
By the time he actually fights it will be 15 months.
KenFlo has been extremely patient and his time for a title shot is now. Dana needs to make this happen, it really isn’t fair.
when i 1st read this headline i was almost sure that bj was either fightin at 170 again or 185 to take on silva. thank god its a realistic reason now. and if ur gonna have kenflo fight have him fight diego. thats all they talked about sat so lets have at it!
Between KenFlo and BJ, they have cleared out the LW division and I would really love to see BJ defend his title against Kenflo asap, especialy since KenFlo has been waiting for so long. But, you do have a point about KenFlo vs Deigo, that would be an interesting matchup because KenFlo has gotten so much better since his TUF 1 defeat to Deigo. I would like to see both fights but would prefer to see the title match first.
it is a solid fight that i would like to see and if penn wants time off have diego/sherk vs kenflo and winner gets bj 3 or 4 months afta that. its either that or dont give bj wat he wants and well have another episode where he leaves to fight open weight fights in japan
I just really don’t think that he deserves additional time off, he already has four months from his last fight with GSP to his next fight with KenFlo (in June). It’s one of the responsibilities of being a champion, it’s your job to defend your title. Also, in no other job will you find that men get maternity leave.
Men get Paternity Leave, Maternity Leave is for women. They can still add this to UFC 100, 3 title fights on one card, been done before.
While I agree with your point, etherbunny, that is not true. Fathers are as entitled to leave with job security as mothers under Family Medical Leave Act. Any sort of gender-based criteria would be unconstitutional because of the 14th Amendment. HOWEVER…
A June fight is 14 months since BJ’s last title defense. If it goes to August, you’re looking at 16 months of uninjured time between title defenses. At this point, BJ can’t even be called a champion because a champion fights and defends his title. He’s a belt holder, because he is simply holding it and letting it get dust and tarnish on it.
If BJ won’t take a June fight, give him the KJ Noons treatment. Strip him of the title and work towards setting up another match up (or 4 person mini tourney) and find a champion. Hell, if this started now, you’d have the title fight in August anyway.
You’d have the added bonus of not penalizing Florian for the fact that BJ can’t be bothered to do his damn job. Florian’s last 3 fights (Lauzon, Huerta, Stevenson) made him a legitimate #1 contender. In fact, they made him 2008’s dominant lightweight fighter. Making him fight Sanchez or Sherk for the rights to the title shot he has already earned is asinine.
dbiz you are correct and if BJ is taking his FMLA leave, he is entitled to 12 weeks leave of absence. That is if the UFC follows regular business law requirements. He takes the 12 weeks from his last fight, that makes him eligible to fight by May.
Asinine. Great word dbiz, it fits this situation perfectly.
FMLA only says that after his leave is over, he still has a job with the UFC (and likely that the pay scale is the same). It wouldn’t say he gets to remain champion. Strip him now and be done with it.
Although after thinking about it, BJ took a beating from GSP and would have to defend his title a month before GSP fights again. Move the GSP/Alves fight to UFC 99 and put Penn/Florian on 100.
Unless if Alves and GSP both agreed to this, it would be very unfair to do that to them. They are already scheduled, and might have plans that depend on that schedule being kept in tact be it training or other personal plans.
I don’t know if Florian/Penn was set in stone, but it just seems wrong to delay it. Florian has been waiting a long time, and Penn always knew that win/lose against GSP, if he didn’t retire, Florian was next in line. It will be a year since he’s defended, which as others have said is sort of unacceptable when there are guys waiting in the wing.
I think penn trains almost exclusively out of Hawaii, closeby to home. It’s not like other dads get to take off from work for a couple of months when they have a kid, they do their 8 hours a day and get to go home and spend time with them. Penn’s family lives close, I’m sure there are plenty of people in the family that can watch over his child while he is at the gym all day. This need to spend time with his child is admirable of Penn, but at the same time, it’s not like he’s going to have to abandon his kid for four months while he’s taking care of business that needs attending.
So I think replacing Florian/Penn with Alves/GSP is unfair, and just delaying Florian/Penn is a drag. Two weight divisions shouldn’t have to be jostled about due to the whim of Penn.
You have to remember, this is BJ “My Way” Penn. He hasn’t fought more then twice a year since 2004, only once in 2007. He already has one fight in 2009 so that only leaves one more for him this year. He is one of my favorite fighters, when he fights, but this is starting to get old. This isn’t like the Hughes fight, you can’t take 9 months off especially when you have a title to defend. I suggested the GSP/Alves move just as an idea to get Penn’s ass in the cage sooner. I agree it wouldn’t be fair to those two, also suggested just adding this fight to UFC 100, 3 title fights on one card, would be sweet.
I definitely agree with your message – get Penn off his butt and into the octagon. Fair enough
Strip bj, have florian fight sanchez for Interim, then when bj is ready, have bj fight Florian/sanchez for undisputed lightweight… Hey, that sounds familiar…. No, I’m kidding, I agree with you, willyd.
80 grand tuff ha i could live with 80 grand for a while
I hate bj! I know were not supposed to insult the fighters, but IMO he is a ****. And a baby. Its his MO to forfeit the title, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see that happen. And then he will say he never got beat so he’s the real champ. What a coward. He will have had the title for over a year, even if its June, without a title defense. This is a joke, if you’re injured, then its understandable for time off. But your in mma, bj, its your living. I wish I could take a year off from my job. Who agrees with me?
If you know you aren’t supposed to bash fighters, don’t. Or if you lack even that much self control, go somewhere else.
Thanks, ref.
Is dbiz now the voice of reason on this site? lol
BJ keeps making things worse and worse for himself. If he didn’t want to fight more then 2-3 times a year, maybe stick to one weight class, **** or get off the pot bud. Gsp proved how overrated (yes I said it) BJ really is, he whines and whines until he either gets his own way or wiggles himself out of a situation he doesn’t like. Man up and take the fight, Kenny has been more patient and more deserving then BJ has been in a while.
Eddie,
Well said dude. BJ’s true colors have come out in the past couple of months and from what it looks like to me, he’s on the tito road. BJ doesn’t sound like a champ. He’s a lazy spoiled, whining little bich. GSP hadn’t gotten 2 words in during his victory speech against fitch before BJ jumped on the mic and challenged him. It took gsp one breath to say ok i’ll fight you. He didn’t make BJ wait. That’s what a real champ would do. He’s got to fulfill his duties as a champ and defend the title. It’s been almost a year dude! Florian is a classy guy so of course he’s going to say he’s ok with it. Can’t wait to see kenflo as the champ.
I think it’s completely unfair to say BJ will go 13 months without a title defense for the sole purpose of discrediting him as a champion. How soon we forget that during that time span, he took part in the biggest fight in MMA history. As soon as BJ v. GSP II was announced, we were all going crazy over the superfight and couldnt wait to see it. We all knew he would have to remove himself temporarily from the lightweight picture but we didnt care because it was so we could see BJ v. GSP II. And now we bash BJ for going 12ish months for not defending his title?! The thanks we give him for asking for 6ish months until he fights Florian is to call for his belt to be stripped??! Rampage took that long after his last fight, so did Forrest. And Anderson Silva is taking his sweet time too but nobody is saying these guys are any less of a champion for it. BJ is looking for August which is around 6-7 months since his last fight. I have no problem with that. But to just go ahead and point out the 13 month span between title defenses and blindly forget about his fight with GSP for the sole purpose of discrediting him is completely irresponsible.
The only people who have a legitimate beef with the official 13 month span is anybody who thought BJ v. GSP II was a bad idea from the beginning for the lag it will create. And I doubt there are too many of that sort.
Why didn’t he fight in the 8 months between Sherk and GSP? Why does he need 6 more after 8 months last time? That’s almost a year and a half without a title defense. We could do an 8 man tourney in less time than that. He isn’t a champion if he doesn’t defend, period.
And for the record, I did hate the idea of BJ getting a shot at Penn and said so VERY LOUDLY. IT was wrong, it is wrong, and BJ should get his ass in the ring and fight ASAP. Take 6 months after the Florian fight because he took his sweet time getting ready.
Keep in mind, BJ wanted to fight GSP immidiately. He was very clear about that. In fact, that fight was even delayed because GSP requested more time off to rest! I highly doubt anybody bashed GSP. The issue here is BJ is simply asking for about another 6 weeks from a “speculative” June fight with Florian. He needs a little more time, just like GSP did. Big deal.
No, the issue here is that BJ hasn’t fought more than twice in a year since 2004. So, that’s (from 1/1/05 through present) BJ has fought 8 times. GSP has fought 12 times. GSP actually needed time off. BJ is 4-4 in that time. GSP is 11-1. BJ Penn has defended his title once since he won it, and the earliest he could defend it would be 13 months from when he last fought. GSP defended his 3 times in the last 13 months.
Are you actually going to argue that they should be treated equally? They ought to perform equally, and it’s painfully obvious BJ can’t manage that.
I thought it was a bad idea cause Florian and Alves both could have been screwed if Penn would have beat GSP. Now it’s just Florian getting screwed. I am a HUGE Penn fan and usually debate til I am blue in the face for him, but the guy does take a lot of time off between fights:
8 months off before GSP 1
9 months off before Pulver
7 months off before Stevenson
8 months off before GSP 2
These are just the past couple years. You can’t call out Rampage, Forrest, and Silva for doing it after 1 fight. This is not the 1st time BJ has disrespected a belt and unfortunately, won’t be the last.
He fought Pulver, Joe Daddy, and Sherk in a span of 11 months. That’s 3 fights in 11 months for those scoring at home.
I didn’t call out Forrest and Rampage because I’m not calling BJ out. I just stated that those other guys do the same thing. The same exact thing could be said every time somebody goes on the TUF show to coach as champion. We bash BJ for idling his title to fight GSP but we dont bash the others for idling their belts to go on a reality TV show?!
The reason there was so long before the Joe Daddy fight was because Sherk tested positive for roids and his appeal/suspension/decision kept getting delayed and the UFC had no idea what to do with the LW title. Not BJ’s fault. The reason it took 7 months for the GSP II fight was becasue GSP said he needed more time. Again, not BJ’s fault.
Look, I am not happy about this either and BJ has put himsolef in a bad light even before this particular issue, I think everybody is clearly overreacting to him simply asking for a few more weeks here, which was my original premise.
“but we dont bash the others for idling their belts to go on a reality TV show?!”
That’s because the bosses put them on the TV show, its not really up to them. Remember all the talk about Franklin not wanting to be on the reality show, but he would do it because he’s a company man.
Don’t get me started on reality tv shows! They make people dumber. 3 fights in 11 months sounds good, but was 9 months before the first one after the Hughes fight, 7 months after a 2 round submission of Pulver, 4 months after another 2nd round sub of Stevenson, and 8 months til GSP. Granite GSP did ask for an extension after the Fitch fight to heal and Dana wanted MEGA money for Super Bowl weekend. If BJ would have asked for an extension for the Florian fight due to injury or more training time, fine, but for a personal reason of seeing his baby daughter more, sorry no. You can hang with your daughter at night after a day of training just like every other father does after work in this world.
TUF also helped a great deal to make the UFC and MMA what is is today…. so you can thank reality TV for that.
Justin, I can thank TUF and UFC for helping to increase the population of MMA, but reality tv as a whole, could really do without.
I could do without, and mostly do do without, most “reality tv”. Actually, TUF is probably the only “reality TV” I watch, unless you count Bullrun or Rob Dyrdek as “reality TV”.
BJ GETTING A SHOT AT PENN? LOL
this is no surprise to me…
he prolly needs all this time to retrain and get back in shape… but if he spends this time with his family then how ready is he gonna be for kenflo… the more time goes by the better things look for kenflo…
i think that the next time penn has to sign a contract there be a 3 fight per year stipulation… unless on injury relief… he doesnt need to take his pat leave… its not like he doesnt take days off from training anyways…
bj time to man up, and show us if you really are a champ or a CHUMP
Like most of the people hear are saying, bj will go over a year without defending is bull.
He didnt deserve a shot at 170 belt in the first place an he has put the 155 division on hold, not really fair imo. Fight in june its been long enough or give up the belt.
I agree with both of you guys, Eddie and Jazz. I mean really, come on. I believe BJ Penn will not go down in history as a top ten fighter of all time. No chance. He’s good, sure, but fighting so little? You can’t build a legacy like that. You also can’t build a legacy running your mouth and getting lit up.
Eddie: I’m curious as to what tools Kenny can offer to put defeat BJ. I think it can be done, but Kenflo can’t knock him out or submit him. Do you think he’ll grind out a decision? It seems to me that Kenny is in danger of a 1st Rd TKO
I personally think BJ thinks too highly of himself which cause followers oh his to uphold the same opinions. Kenflo is 100% not the same fighter he once was, I am not a Florian or Penn fan in the lease but if I had to guess I would say the fight would go to the 3rd maybe even fourth round. Kenny can grind with the best of them and I am also quite confident in the present day that Kenny would out strike Penn.
BJ Penn needs to get off his high horse and either retire and relinquish the title or man up and fight the man he should have fought over 6 months ago.
First and foremost I never thought Penn was deserving of a title shot at welter-weight without even so much as a tune-up fight to propel him above guys like Alves and at the time Diego Sanchez. I thought it was complete BS that the rules did not apply to him and he was granted a title shot vs GSP without even earning it. I also thought it was a complete joke he was allowed to get inside the octagon and challenge GSP in person after his win over Fitch.
Had Penn defeated GSP my guess is he would have retired with both belts to his name, claiming to be the greatest P4P fighter in the history of MMA. Fortunately for us his lackluster training camp and big head, lead to a devastating and dominating performance which saw GSP whoop his butt for 4 rounds, leading to him throwing in the towel. The quitter quitting. Irony.
Now, the last think Penn wants to do is hit the gym for another 3 months to prepare for a fight vs the very deserving Kenflo in June. Penn would rather hold off till next year and fight when he is ready. Well, that’s not what a champion does. It’s your own fault B.J. for rushing into a fight against a much better fighter in GSP rather than defending your own belt against the #1 contender that you have been ducking for what will be well over a year. A man who has beaten the who’s who and has been patiently waiting and professional about it the whole time. It’s complete BS that you would ask him to wait another 6 months for that title shot. Or even worse, have to fight again before getting to you… because you refuse to put in the same sweat, blood and hours that all UFC fighters are expected to do.
More and more it seems Penn just does not want to be a fighter anymore. But his own ego is not letting him retire unless he feels he is on top. Kenflo should not have to wait a day longer for his title shot. BJ Penn is becoming quite the disgrace to the entire industry and I would love for the UFC to strip him of his title if he refuses to defend it within 1 year of winning it.
I agree with everything you said but I think if you are a belt holder you should have to defend it at least every seven months or so not a year.
Markus J, you hit the nail right on the head brother.
“First and foremost I never thought Penn was deserving of a title shot at welter-weight without even so much as a tune-up fight to propel him above guys like Alves and at the time Diego Sanchez.”
—–
Especially after his last two welterweight fights were losses. Nothing like going 0-3 in your last 3 fights at a weight class. The UFC ought to ban him from welterweight because he’s clearly not top 10 in that division.
ufc 100-101 latist
i would like kenflo vs sanchez but i dont want kenflo to lose his chance.
i hope kenflo beats bj ass!
so sanchez should fight next at LW neer/maynard/lauzon/guida
bj needs more time to smoke weed. beat it you little baby jay.in canada we like huge canons.Outdoor
I don’t even know what that means, but whatever
Hughes and Serra both didn’t mind waiting at all so this isnt like that fight at all
bJ will go down as a top 10 the guy who said he wouldnt is on crack
Well I’m not going to read through what seemed to be a few arguments on this subject so simply here is my opionion.
Blame The Greatness (GSP) for this, whynot he wanted to take time off so he could heal because “he fought too much already”, but whatever right.. If Penn wants time off to spend with his newborn then so be it, right.. That same situation arose with the LHW champion Evans who declined to fight Rampage to the fact he wanted to spend time with his newborn.. And people dont seem to have a problem with that.. So why persay is it different for BJ Penn, o that’s right because it’s Penn, right? A bit of double standard perhaps?
KenFlo will get his shot and he will give Penn a hell of a fight, hell perhaps even win, he is training with The Greatness after all..
If Penn v KenFlo doesnt happen at 99 will I be upset, well depends on what Main Event they come up with. I’am 100% certain that BJ Penn isn’t ducking KenFlo and this fight will happen, soo we shall see but if Joe Silva and Dana White say it’s going to happen and Penn and Flo sign the contracts guess what it will happen. This is clearly a wait and see process, hell we should know rather soon atleast by April
Like I said up above, GSP needed time off because that was after 4 fights in 12 months. BJ needs a break after 1 fight in 8?
GSP needed almost a 6month break? I’m not attempting to argue with you but damn double standards get on my nerves, if you dont like Penn cool no worries but no one is up in arms about Rashad asking for the same thing.. Fighting every three months is essentially the norm for these fighters (some do fight more often then others ofcoursez), both The Greatness and Penn are legandary fighters, perhaps Penn needs time to recover from the whooping handed to him by The Greatness emotionally/psyhically I don’t know.. Hey maybe he wants to regroup his camp perhaps find a way to evolve in this sport? refocus, hell I don’t know it could be any number of things that would have people stating he wants to stay at home with his newborn.. I’m not here to make excuses for his “statement” or attempt to “protect” one of my favorite fighters or whatever, DbiZ you know better than most that there is always a percievd story and the truth, the “story” always has fragments of the truth in it but this “statment” I believe is no where near the truth whatever that maybe.. Penn has been in this game a long time and the last thing he wants his to go out as a gate keeper imo so just wait and see or go ape shhh over this, but if you do, please mind you I believe at that point you should go ape shhh over Rashad not fighting Rampage in March, for almost the exact same reasoning… Im not here to argue with you my friend, take it for what it is, cheers
My point is that GSP needed time off because he had fought (indeed, defended his title) 4 times in the year before his break. Penn fought once in the year before his fight against GSP.
The reason for the break is the issue. In GSP’s case, it was because he had been fighting a lot and needed to heal up. In BJ’s case, it is because he just doesn’t want to fight.
My main point here is that BJ’s belt isn’t going to be defended for over a year at best, almost a year and a half at worst. That should not be allowed, even for injury. If you are injured so badly that you need over a year off, then you can come back and take a stab at the title when you are back but you are unable to defend it.
BJ is just unwilling.
well rampage didn’t deserve a title shot yet winning one match after losing title.
He lost a close decision then destroyed W. Silva. If he gets past Jardine, he has as good a claim as anyone.
I cant believe bj is ducking this fight. I understand the idea that he needs paterinty leave, fine give it to him… wait he trains right by where he lives. And to top that off he doesnt even train constantly, so that argument is out. 2nd point, he needs time to recover from the ass whooping GSP/The Greatness gave him no complaints there. He got destroyed. However I seem to recall GSP having a battle with Fitch, giving his post fight interview, BJ interrupting and challenging GSP and GSP didnt hesitate. He accepted the fight. The same thing happened to GSP after he destroyed Penn, Alves challenged GSP and GSP accepted. This whole I need time to rest and be with my baby defense would work if it were true. I just pointed out the holes in BJ’s defense. What BJ is scared of, at least to me: is getting beaten by Kenny. Kenny is training with GSP and thats what BJ is scared of. Kenny is gonna find out BJ’s weak points. Everyone knows them, they are: BJ’s cardio sucks after round 2, he has no heart, and he is crybaby.
If BJ cant beat his opponent by the end of round 1 he gives up on himself and the fight. Kenny’s ground game is sick as well as his striking. He will defeat BJ. Another thing, BJ had no buisness getting a title shot before Alves, or any other of the 170 guys. He had not proved himself with any of those guys and it showed in the GSP fight. He was overmatched.
When Kenny beats BJ, BJ is gonna say it was because Kenny had vaseline applied to him between rounds just like GSP. BJ does not act like a champ. He acts like a chump, he talks **** about other fighters yet cannot back it up. BJ shouldnt fight on the 100 card but that is just my opinion.
BigChris, I respect your opionion and I will return to talk on certain points later, perhaps if you could scan the comment I left DBiZ it might help just a tad, no need to argue about whether or not Penn deserved the title shot or whatever, hell The Greatness accepted on the night he beat Fitch, thats not the first time that sort of thing has happend in the fight game, and the what if’s were sooo great and the storyline was awesome. From a business sense of the situation great move.. Penn got whooped that did happen no doubt, owell right, didn’t affect me in any manor had to eat a lil crow..
The Vasaline problem, wellllll when the commision is reviewing it and they say it happend, your boss says it happend, we have all witnessed it, your co workers saw it happen.. eh it just doesn’t look too good… Now do I personally think that The Greatness cheated NO, do I think his cornerman cheated (knowingly or otherwise) YES, did it assits in breaking the rubberguard soooo easily yes, was The Greatness winning that fight YES, but the instance in question took away any ability to counter the better fighter (on that night) so in turn the Vasaline affected the fight and in my opionion will become a NC, and if not so be it, there is my 15 dimes to you BigChris, thx
i have 4 UFC fighters i enjoy as favroites, Ken-Flo is one of them. i really didnt see any need for penn vs gsp unless dana and ufc needed some more cash but it was ok and the end result was as predictable as the sun rise. ken-flo and penn should have happened that night or one of my other fave fighters Alves and gsp should have happened that night or at least feb or march. but anyway i think ufc 100 should have both ken-flo vs penn and gsp vs alves. by the way my other 2 faves are Forrest and Shane Carwin, also watch out for Steve Cantwell
FR702 the thing I said about the vaseline was meant as a joke, (I am a very blunt guy with a dry sense of humor)… BJ was looking for any excuse on why he lost that fight. He couldnt man up and accept the fact that he lost to the better fighter. I agree with you about the fact that I dont think it was GSP’s idea. Was it his cutman’s idea? maybe, maybe not. From another report I read on this site after the postfight interview when BJ accused GSP of cheating, it stated that the Nevada athletic commision guy or someone along that role saw the incidental applying of vaseline when the cutman touched GSP on the back and had it wiped off immediately.
For argument purposes lets say GSP did have vaseline applied to him, what were the excuses for all the punches he landed when the two were standing everytime before GSP decided to take BJ down? Thats what I among others would like answered from BJ and his handlers. GSP was picking apart BJ in the stand up game. Did GSP have vaseline on his gloves as well? and when they hit BJ in the eye did the vaseline get in his eyes and make him see blurry and see 6 GSP’s? To answer that joke, there was not 6 GSP’s, the guy is just so fast and strong and amazing that it seems like you are fighting 6 guys at once.
I am not trying to start a fight or argument with FR702 or anyone else on this site… we are all mma fans with our own views and opinions and we all give our opinions on topics.
It seems that BJ is pulling a Tito Ortiz when he wouldn’t fight Chuck. A lightweight title should be on the line in June, and if BJ isn’t there they should have an interim title be put up. BJ gets way too much of what he wants and he doesn’t deserve it, especially in comparison of what other fighters have to do. He is not going down in the history books the way he wants too because of his lack of efforts.
Interesting, i had a feeling that when you let guys cross over in divisions something like this would happen.
Its like on division is put on hold, the belt held hostage until the fighter decides he is ready.
BJ/GSP was an unnecessary fight, there were no lead up fights for BJ in the WW division, he should have stayed where he belongs to defend his belt.
I guess the UFC will do whatever sells the most PPV’s, i doubt if that fight was Joe Silvas pick but more of a marketing pick.
I like Florians chances against BJ, it should be a close fight and very memorable providing BJ decides to prepare for it.
exactly mikew exactly. there was no need at all for this fight. a “superfight”? haha. what was so super about it? bj had a chance to make history against a guy that no one can beat right now. if ufc, joe silva, and/or dana are gonna make a “superfight”, why not let gsp and spider go at it? pound for pound 2 of the best in all mma. now thats super. make it happen before silva retires in 2010 like he says hes going to.